Well I'm really new to the forums but I'm going to go ahead and start a training journal.

I'm training for my very first figure competition, the OCB Yankee Classic July 30, 2011. I've been fairly athletic for the last two years, running two half marathons and numerous smaller races. Weight training is somewhat new to me but so far I'm absolutely loving it and dare I say, having more fun then when I was just running and training for the half marys.

Here are my stats as of 12/15 (my first official day of training):

Age - 26Weight - 134.6Height - 5'4"Tri - 22'Sup - 26.5'Thigh - 27.5

I'm working with a trainer to help me with my workouts. He also happens to be a natural bodybuilder though he does eat animal products. He's been very supportive of my choice to stick to my vegan diet while training but can't really offer me too much help with nutrition.

My training schedule is six days of strength training and five days of cardio:

So today was a leg day which I did this morning nice and early. I like to work out around 5:30am before I go to work and usually do cardio right after weights. Today I had to come back after work and get cardio in. Almost didn't go because I was tired but I did and felt great and happy that I did.

Struggling a little with nutrition. Today's break down looks like this:

Calories 1223 Carbs 122.8 Protein 111.20 Fat 40.10

Really low on the calories for my liking. I'm trying to be around 1500-1600 calories. I need to burn fat since I'm about 15 pounds over where I'd like to be come comp time but I'm also not trying to starve myself. So this will be an area that I work on a lot until I get it right.

I just ordered Vega Sport Protein Drink and the Performance Optimizer to drink in the am prior to workouts so I'm hoping that helps. Also in the market for an additional protein powder. I'm not a big fan of tofu so my major protein sources right now have been beans, some tempeh and Smart Dogs Jumbo Protein Links (vegan junk i know but lots of protein).

So that's where I'm at as of today. I'll get some before photos posted at some point.

Yah!! another vegan figure competitor!! =D I agree with you, low on calories. I learned from my first show not to go too low with calories, I went in smaller than I was 4 weeks out and wasn't happy with it.

May be helpful to post what your food journal as well. Very exciting, congrats on deciding to do your first comp!

@djshew awesome, I'm so excited to get to know others pursuing the same! Yeah I had a feeling it was low by the way I felt at the end of the day. And I don't want to lean down to low now and then when it comes time to cut I can't go any lower. So I'm learning! Any advice/tips more then welcome!

@RC 2011 will be a great year! I did see the other person in the intro as well. I'm so excited about all these people with similar goals and interests. Awesome.

Okay so today ended up being an unintended rest day, which is fine, that just means I'll be working out on Sunday instead. But even though I know I need a day off, I can't help but feel a little lazy when I take one.

So tomorrow morning will be chest/abs and ss cardio.

I thought I'd share today's eats. I had a business lunch meeting which I always dread. A. because it's obviously hard to control what you eat as far as portions and B. I don't really fit in at work because of "healthy" I am...go figure. Sad but true. So I sometimes get shy making special orders.

I was pleasantly surprised though when I pulled the waitress aside and told her I was vegan and if the chef didn't mind throwing together a nice salad loaded with veggies and beans for me. Luckily they were more than happy too.

So I didn't really know how to calculate my lunch so without my lunch/cucumbers and celery calculated in, my totals looks like this:

1,007 calories 140g carbs 68g protein 26g fat

Obviously I ate more calories then that but it can't be more than 300-400 I'm guessing which would make it a little better than yesterday, but my carbs are pretty high! I felt more snacky today for some reason, hence the crackers and hummus.

I just finished re-reading THRIVE and I'm really contemplating giving the 12w meal plan a shot but I'm afraid that I won't lose the body fat that I need too. My trainer says to minimize the amount of fruit I eat because of the sugar and carbs and of course there is a lot of fruit involved in the THRIVE diet.

Oh and I'm working on my water consumption. I'm drinking anywhere from 64 - 100oz right now and my trainer wants to see me drink more. I find it difficult but chugging one large water bottle during my workout helps a little.

Alright well time for bed. Up early for some quality time with the gym.

Regarding the fruit....that is a common thing seemingly "all" bodybuilders frown upon and I did too back in 2003 when I was first competing. For years I stayed away from it, but as of late I haven't worried that much about it. I still ate fruit in contest prep for the 4 shows I did in 2009 and I was super shredded this summer like 6 or 8-pack abs (as seen on facebook haha!) and I ate fruit all day long, more than anything.

So I'm not sold on the whole "no fruit" or "low fruit" thing.

No doubt it's a complicated game.....pre contest dieting....but just keep exploring and experimenting.

My philosophy has been and still is....the more I train, the more I can eat. So rather and depriving myself, I just turn it up a notch with training. I simply do more cardio or do more workouts and allow myself to eat more comfortably. And all that training tends to just add more tone to my muscles. Just my experience.

I don't think I could go without any fruit at all. I just love it so much and when I workout in the morning I usually have a piece of fruit just so that I'm not running on a completely empty tank.

I like your philosophy. However I have had the hardest time losing the last bit of weight for two years so I'm so afraid that no matter what I do I won't lose the belly fat. So truth be told I think I'm afraid to eat too much...but like you said, it's one big experiment so I'm hoping to learn a lot about my body through this process.

I drank the protein shake while dinner was cooking because I was so hungry, that and it had just come in the mail. I love it. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor.

So I think overall it was a good day as far as eats and training is concerned. Now I just need to relax a little about this fear I have about not being able to lose the weight. I do feel better energy wise having eaten more calories then the last few days. Hopefully I can duplicate this.

Went to bed late again last night. Decided to sleep the extra two hours this morning and just work out after work.

Also came to the realization that I'm definitely an emotional eater. Had a rough day at work today. Not really fitting in or feeling satisfied at my job is a big part of it. Suddenly wanted chocolate and the brownies a co-worker brought in. First real craving in weeks.

I immediately realized it wasn't because I was hungry, it was because I was feeling a little down. Didn't cave. No brownies for me.

Today was Back/Cardio - I have a week back so I love these days. I have a not-so-secret goal to finally be able to do unassisted pull ups. Even if it's just one.

A little high on the fat but I'm happy about the calories. Slowly getting better. First night really trying to attempt tofu again. I made a scramble and it was SO good! I ate one block of Wildwood Organics sprouted tofu.

TMI Alert!!

Gas has been out of control the last week so I had a glass of my homebrew kombucha. Don't know the nutrition but I'm hoping it helps what ever is going on with my insides. To much fiber? Not enough?

That's all for now. Need at least an hour before bed to unplug and relax. Shoulder and abs tomorrow. Another favorite!

Hey your journal rocks and your goals are very attainable. If your macros are unbalanced, you're going to have gas. Protein is more difficult to digest. Best for a cleanse some other time though imho. I def suggest the classic bbing nutrition (aka lots of protein). Good luck with the up and coming comp. I'm sure you'll do great!

Asparagus, Blk Coffee, Oats, oh boy, yes you are at it

I'd bet you commitment pays off and in the long run as well. I'll check in again, keep us inspired!

I had a friend over for dinner last night and we made dinner. I don't know how to calculate the nutrition for our tamales (they were amazing) and I'm sure I ate too many carbs. But I didn't eat to much and decided to just enjoy the meal.

Not a good day for water consumption, not including vega drink, I probably only had 64oz of water.

Alright well I'm peacing out. Today is interval training and bi's/tri's. Lot's to do today so I'm off to go get a good workout in and get busy.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet for tonight. My kitchen is being ripped apart early monday morning and I have SO much to do to get ready for it.

Trust me this is MUCH needed however I'm nervous about eats for the next two weeks. I won't have a sink or stove so my diet will be mostly raw, which is not a bad thing, but I'm not sure yet how I'm going to get in enough to eat and enough protein.

Oh and I had my eye exam today and he noted that my eyes were dry and that my tear ducts did not have the natural sheen of oil that they should have. Mine was more spotted. He suggested that I get more Omega-3s in my diet. So I'm going to try and eat more seeds and walnuts

Note to self: no coffee. more seeds and walnuts. Smaller servings of oats.

Trainer gave me a goal last week to lose 5 pounds in two weeks. I weighed myself this morning and my weight hasn't moved at all. I'm feeling frustrated and concerned that I'm not going to be able to shed any weight.

I'm going to do cardio 6-7 days a week and do as many 'two a days' as I can fit in and push HARD. Hopefully that helps and I start seeing some body fat melt away.